Final grades for Baltimore Orioles telecasts on MASN [Pictures]

Gary Thorne: B-

Gene Sweeney Jr., Baltimore Sun photo

Gary Thorne is a solid play-by-play announcer -- a very solid play-by-play announcer. And he can adjust depending on who's in the booth with him. He was a guide and mentor to Mike Bordick this season. With Jim Palmer, he is smart enough to give the Hall of Fame pitcher and superb analyst all the room he wants to verbally roam. Thorne is at his worst when he gets giddy as he did Sunday talking about first baseman Mark Reynolds as "The Toe," because of the infielder's ability to make contact with the bag no matter how far he has to stretch to catch a throw. Maybe that's a New England sense of humor, but I don't think so. But he is a smart and solid announcer, and he gets extra points for doing his job and half of Bordick's at the start of the year.

Gary Thorne is a solid play-by-play announcer -- a very solid play-by-play announcer. And he can adjust depending on who's in the booth with him. He was a guide and mentor to Mike Bordick this season. With Jim Palmer, he is smart enough to give the Hall of Fame pitcher and superb analyst all the room he wants to verbally roam. Thorne is at his worst when he gets giddy as he did Sunday talking about first baseman Mark Reynolds as "The Toe," because of the infielder's ability to make contact with the bag no matter how far he has to stretch to catch a throw. Maybe that's a New England sense of humor, but I don't think so. But he is a smart and solid announcer, and he gets extra points for doing his job and half of Bordick's at the start of the year. (Gene Sweeney Jr., Baltimore Sun photo)

Jim Palmer is as good as it gets in baseball analysis. He's as good as anyone at the networks, TBS or ESPN. His big theme is "baseball as a game of constant adjustment." But his genius for baseball analysis is in the details and the way he breaks down the nature of those adjustments especially when he talks about pitching. I know some people think Palmer is too full of himself. I think he has one of the best minds in the game, and it is a delight to experience the sport through his eyes -- even if he does remember too many details about the time Nolan Ryan was picked over him for the all-star team even though he had a better record. In the end, Palmer is an absolute gift to Baltimore viewers when he whimsically shares memories from his days as an all-star pitcher for the O's.

Jim Palmer is as good as it gets in baseball analysis. He's as good as anyone at the networks, TBS or ESPN. His big theme is "baseball as a game of constant adjustment." But his genius for baseball analysis is in the details and the way he breaks down the nature of those adjustments especially when he talks about pitching. I know some people think Palmer is too full of himself. I think he has one of the best minds in the game, and it is a delight to experience the sport through his eyes -- even if he does remember too many details about the time Nolan Ryan was picked over him for the all-star team even though he had a better record. In the end, Palmer is an absolute gift to Baltimore viewers when he whimsically shares memories from his days as an all-star pitcher for the O's. (Joy R. Absalon, US Presswire)

With the end of the regular season, it's time to ask what kind of job MASN, the team's cable channel, did for its TV fans this year. Was Mike Bordick a welcome addition in the broadcast booth or a minor league coach playing a major-league sportscaster? Was there enough Jim Palmer for your taste? Did the postgame team of Jim Hunter and Rick Dempsey ever say anything that wasn't super-positive? With the magical season the baseball team has enjoyed, there is a tendency to love all things Orioles right now, but I won't let that stop me from giving the MASN crew the grades it deserves. I love TV baseball. When it's done skillfully, it is one of the great joys of my adult life. At the end of a long day, it's like a perfect glass of chilled wine or a meditation session that takes me to another place. That's when it's done right. When it's wrong ... -- David Zurawik, The Baltimore Sun